PROGRAM Nezumi
by Demons of the arch angel
Summary: [AU?] Nezumi was living a normal and perfect life. Well, it was perfect up until he finds the white-haired bright-eyed boy hiding inside his covers who tells him his whole life is a lie. What the hell is going on? Who is he supposed to remember? Whatever he needs to remember, he has to do it fast or lose all his memories. - Anime
1. Chapter 1: DELETE FILES

**Rating: T+**

 **Pairings: Nezumi x Shion (eventually)**

 **Warnings: OOCness, OCs, rantings from a mad author, inconsistent updates, implying sexual content, grammatical errors, no beta.**

 **Disclaimer: Whims of Anime does not own No. 6, only the plot and the OCs. They belong to their rightful owners. Please support the official release.**

 **Dedication: To nezushijustwantstobefree, who supported this idea.**

 **Anime: Hi guys. I know that I should be updating other stories for this fandom (Story of Evil, DRAMA Is Now In Session, Trick and Treat) but this idea has been in my head for some time and so I decided to upload this story as my first story of my March 2017 comeback. I hope you enjoy it and let me know what you think. Without further ado, to the story!**

 _ **~~~ProgramNezumi~~~**_

 **1: DELETE FILES?**

In a laboratory far from prying eyes, a young man was typing away into multiple laptops. He pushed his glasses on his nose, the sleeves of his lab coat rolled up. He looked nervous, his hands flying through the keyboard rapidly.

He was handsome young man with black hair that was currently slicked back so his bangs wouldn't get in the way of his work. His golden eyes glinted from the reflection of the laptop he was currently working on. He gave out a cry as it shut down and turned to the next. All the laptops, save for one, were flashing a red pop-up that informed him of a virus that was infecting his system.

"Shi, Nez, On, Umi, I'm sorry," He muttered as he glanced at the only virus-free laptop. Something was loading on the screen and the current percentage was eighty-nine percent. He steeled himself as he tried to fix the other laptops. If any of his programs would work, it'd be him, he was sure of it.

"Doctor~." A voice sang from outside his lab door and he froze. He heard knocking and closed the screens of his laptops before he began to put them away, fixing all the papers he had sprawled across his desk.

"Yes, Dr. Kirishima?" He asked, closing the loading laptop halfway. He fixed his hair before he headed to open his door. Once he did, three men entered the room immediately, all of them dressed in black suits before being followed by a middle-aged man in a lab coat. The young doctor's eyes widened, looking distressed, "Dr. Kirishima, why are you-?"

"My darling Haou, how are you today?" A voice called out and Haou froze as an old man was wheeled inside the room. He smiled, "It's not every day that you grace us with your beautiful face, my little prodigy."

"Chairman, if I knew you were coming, I would've cleaned my workstation!" Haou said as he tried to fix his papers. He felt a hand on his shoulder and saw it was Dr. Kirishima. The man shook his head and gestured for him to sit down. Haou looked down before nodding, sitting down on his desk. He glanced at the laptop. Only eighty-nine percent left, huh?

"Now, now, Haou, this untidy workstation just shows me that I was right to pick you in this project," The Chairman responded with another smile that was more devilish than anything Haou had seen before. He wheeled in front of the young doctor, "Who could help this operation more than the greatest prodigy No. 6 has ever produced?"

"You flatter me, sir."

"This is not empty flattery, my sweet Haou," The Chairman announced gleefully, "You were able to recreate that blasted boy's system with just one glance at the plans and improved on it greatly. You can do more with it than Shion ever could."

"Really?" Haou said, trying to glance at the laptop. He was nervous. He tried to glance at the laptop without showing interest so they wouldn't notice it. He cleared his throat and fixed his glasses, "So, what is the occasion, Chairman? Someone like you doesn't needlessly visit his lowly workers."

"Well, Haou, I've been having a problem with creating an eighth realm of sleep for our subject so I've been wondering if you could help with that." Haou's dark circles appeared to grow darker as he understood what that man had asked for. He cleared his throat while the Chairman smiled, "It wouldn't be hard to do so, right? So, I ask you-."

"No."

The guards all tensed and seemed to want to raise their guns but Dr. Kirishima stopped them from doing so. The Chairman stared at Haou in shock, who looked at him with what appeared to be anger. Haou shook his head, "We can't keep doing this. We are hurting that boy and for what cause? Just for your sick pleasure in getting rid of the person that toppled down No. 6. Well, I can't do this anymore! He's a human being, dammit!"

"Dr. Haou, compose yourself," The other doctor told the young man before Haou grabbed a screwdriver from his workstation. All the guns the guards carried were lifted and pointed at the young man. A guard even went so far as placing one of his fingers on the trigger. Haou glared at them, his laptop currently forgotten.

"I am done with this project."

The Chairman sighed, "Haou, please reconsider. You know that what we've been doing has been for the best for the restoration of No. 6-."

"I don't want to restore No. 6!" Haou answered, glaring, "Not after everything I've learned in these labs. I know what you did to the people of the forest to get the power of Elyurias. I know what you did to the people of No. 6 in order to revive that goddess. I'm sick of No. 6. I'm glad it collapsed and made way for the world Shion now rules."

"You don't mean that, Haou." The Chairman said before looking at the laptops, "Don't believe everything you read."

"Reading gives you knowledge; why would I not read and expand my knowledge?"

Before anything else could happen, there was a sudden tremor and a blaring sound echoed throughout the building. Surprised, everyone jolted, including the guard that had his finger on the gun's trigger.

The gunshot alerted everyone and they all saw Dr. Haou crumple to the ground. Dr. Kirishima cursed, "You fool, that boy was our unreplaceable asset!" He turned to the other guards, "Take him to the infirmary and try to save him!"

"Sir, he's not breathing!"

"Just take him to the damn infirmary!"

Two guards nodded and, between the two of them, began to carry the limp body of the doctor, everyone else hurrying after them. The Chairman stopped in the doorway to look at the blinking laptop before hurrying after the team that had Haou.

In the lonely laptop that had been abandoned by the human occupants, a message appeared in the screen. It only read:

 _ASTER . exe successfully installed into PROGRAM_VC-103221_

 _PROGRAM_VC-103221 RAM Eradication at 87%_

Nezumi woke up after a long, dreamless night. He yawned, stretching, before he turned to see his alarm clock. It was eight forty-five in the morning on a normal Saturday. He got out of bed and looked down to see his slippers were missing. His sister Eve must have taken them last night after the fight they'd had over who was a better band – Root Five or Linked Horizon – and he and Linked Horizon had won.

His little sister was so petty, he thought as his bare feet touched the cold tile. It was the middle of winter in their simple town of Yamimori so the loss of his slippers was affecting him. Luckily, his heater was on so he didn't really feel that cold.

"Nice try, Eve," He muttered to himself as he headed towards his bathroom. In there, the mirror in front of the sink showed that his shoulder-length slate hair had a serious case of bed hair while his grey eyes were heavy for oversleeping. He yawned and began to comb his unruly hair because he was going out with his friends today.

He had finished his homework last night so he wasn't going to be pressed to finish it Sunday night. The work had been rather easy. He hummed a small tune as he fixed his hair into a small ponytail. He stretched then began to change into the clothes he had picked out last night.

He was wearing a black shirt, a gray coat, dark blue jeans and a gray scarf. He nodded and went to his room to put on his shoes and didn't waste time in putting them on. He left his room and sneaked downstairs to not wake up Eve. His parents were already eating breakfast and drinking coffee in the kitchen. He grabbed a donut and ran out, shouting a goodbye to them before heading to Green Square.

Green Square was the middle of town and named because it also served as the town's park. Trees grew and seemed to mask the beauty of the silver water fountain. People, mostly teenagers, used Green Square as a place to meet up with during the days they had no school so that's where Nezumi was going to meet up with his friends.

"Nezumi, wait!"

He turned to see it was none other than Ayame chasing after him. The girl was one of his close friends from school, someone he had known since he was eleven. She had long auburn hair and violet eyes and was a pretty looking girl. The two had dated once during middle school but they decided to end it after they realized that it'd be better to just be friends. She was dressed in a white coat, a light red scarf and a black skirt that made it up to her knees. Safu always told her to roll them up but Ayame was a shy girl and didn't do so.

"Good morning, Ayame." Nezumi said as he took a bite of his donut.

"Good morning yourself!" She said as she stopped in front of him, panting loudly. She fixed her wind-tossed hair into a high ponytail that reminded him of his own, "Safu and Inu are waiting for us already so we should get going. They're not going to wait for us forever. A shame because I made them bread."

"Hand it over," Nezumi said, still chewing on his donut.

Ayame laughed, swatting his outstretched hand away, "As if. You barely ate breakfast and this is a treat for us for later." She hummed, moving past him. He huffed and the two made their way to Green Square. Ayame sounded cheerful and Nezumi felt annoyed by that because he was not a morning person. Unfortunately, everyone he hung out with was a morning person. He sighed because that was his curse.

The two didn't need to walk long to make it to Green Square. Since it was mid-winter, the trees were bare of leaves so this was the only time of the year where Green Square was called Dead Square. A morbid name but it was fitting for the dead winter landscape of the park.

"Hey there!" Ayame yelled out to Safu and Inukashi, waving rapidly. She rushed to their side, Nezumi walking behind her slowly. He was in no rush to hurry there, after all. Safu and Inukashi were sitting down on the benches next to Kiyoshi and Kadan.

The twins waved at Nezumi, "Tumbled out of bed, princess?"

Nezumi rolled his eyes at them, "At least I bothered to show up."

"Ain't that the truth." Inukashi said. Her long dark brown hair was currently in a braid – a shocking development since she always wore her hair down – so her gender-ambiguous face was visible. She was dressed in a baggy dark purple shirt, black coat and dark blue jeans that were ripped at her knees. The only feminine quality she possessed was her braid and he knew it was most likely Safu that had done it for her.

Safu, unlike Inukashi, had her brown hair down – as her hair barely made it up to her shoulders – while she was dressed in a purple hand-knitted sweater and a black skirt that made it above her knees. She didn't seem to mind the cool weather as she was dressed in such a way but she was able to handle extreme temperatures.

Kiyoshi and Kadan were both black haired boys with hazel eyes but, while Kadan had shoulder-length hair like Nezumi's, Kiyoshi had hair that barely made it past his nape. Kadan had an earring on his right ear and was wearing a black sweater, dark blue scarf and black jeans. Kiyoshi, on the other hand, was wearing a white sweater, green scarf and dark blue jeans.

The nerd, the rebel, the sweetheart, the jerk, the emo and the slacker. That's what they were and no one believed they were friends because of their clashing personalities. Alas, they were friends so arguments in this friendship circle were quite common, some arguments being quite odd. One such argument was the argument between Kadan and Ayame over the topic of Kadan getting another piercing. What an odd group they were.

"Want some?" Inukashi asked, offering some of her cigarettes to Safu. Safu sighed and was about to start another rant that she was killing herself when Kadan took one of them and lit it expertly. Inukashi frowned at him, "I didn't offer them to you."

"You were going to eventually." He responded, blowing the smoke upwards. Kiyoshi coughed and elbowed his brother. Another argument they had was over Inukashi and Kadan's obsession with smoking and neither side had backed down from the fight.

"Don't smoke here, idiots." Nezumi muttered as Inukashi lit up hers as well, "This is a public place. You're gonna kill the kids with second-hand smoke inhalation or something."

"Nezumi's right." Ayame said, crossing her arms, "I don't mind you two smoking but not in places where kids are around." Seeing Ayame angry was a pretty scary sight since she wasn't a person that got angry easily. Being scared by Ayame was also pretty laughable since the girl was about five feet two, the smallest in their group.

"Fine. Then let's get going." Kadan muttered, walking towards the shopping district of Yamimori. Kiyoshi followed after him. Inukashi shrugged and followed suit, Safu walking by her side and looking at Inukashi's braid with the eyes of an expert hairdresser.

Ayame sighed then smiled up at Nezumi, taking his hand, "Let's go then, Nezumi."

 _PROGRAM_VC-103221 RAM Eradication at 90%_

They made Kadan and Inukashi get rid of their cigarettes to get inside the shopping mall, something the two didn't seem to mind as this shopping mall contained the greatest stores in Yamimori. There were a lot of people in so they all headed to the bookstore first.

"Nezumi, let's check out the horror ones first!" Kadan said with a grin. Safu and Kiyoshi went to the non-fiction section and picked up two books, their eyes filled with wonder. Inukashi sat down on the edges of the store while Ayame went to the cookbooks.

Nezumi, on the other hand, went to the books that were on sale. He put a hand on one of the spines of the books and smiled. If it was up to him, he'd end up buying the whole store but he had to be mindful of his money. He paused and gasped, "Collection of Shakespeare's plays?! What are you doing here?"

"Did ya find something?" Inukashi asked him, looking at him in confusion. Nezumi grinned back at her and headed for the counter. There was no way that this great book was on sale.

"Yeah." Nezumi grinned before going to the counter to see if this book really was on sale. When the counter girl - a friend of his named Rita - declared it was true, Nezumi was so happy he almost screamed of joy but he was able to retain himself. He immediately bought the book and waited for the others to finish. He waited with Inukashi as the others took their time. Kadan came by shortly after with three books, all of them from Stephen King, and Ayame followed with six cookbooks.

Safu and Kiyoshi came after them twenty minutes later with five books in hand each, Safu's related to the many sciences while Kiyoshi's were about witchcraft, superstitions and the like.

"Planning on cursing me, little brother?" Kadan asked as he noticed Kiyoshi's book load.

"You wish you were that important." Kiyoshi answered with a laugh. The group all left the bookstore after wishing Rita good luck and headed to other stores. Safu and Ayame dragged Inukashi to a girly store while Nezumi, Kiyoshi and Kadan went to a game store. At one point, Ayame called them so they could see Inukashi in a dress.

"Delete that picture now, Kadan!" Inukashi screamed as the young man held his cell phone high in the air, Inukashi trying to reach up to grab it.

"But you look so adorable, Inukashi." Kadan teased, suddenly hugging her, Inukashi screaming with all of her might to be released. He smiled at the saleswoman charmingly, everyone else just chuckling at the sight, "We'd like to buy this right away."

"Give me back my dignity!" Inukashi yelled, kicking as hard as she could.

"But you look so pretty in it!" Ayame said sincerely. Inukashi cursed at Safu for putting her in the dress before Kadan dragged her out of the store while Nezumi bought the dress.

"You're all assholes." Inukashi announced while Kiyoshi patted her back in reassurance. He must have known what she was going through because he was often the model for Safu and Ayame's dresses.

"Come on, Inukashi, you do look nice in it." Safu told the girl while Nezumi heard his phone give out a small 'ding'. He saw it was a message from Kadan and opened it to see it was the picture of Inukashi in the dress. He snickered, Kadan looking at him with a smirk.

"Boys," Ayame chided, "don't make fun of her. She looks very nice in that dress."

"Whatever." Nezumi said as they headed towards one of their favorite restaurants named Wicked World. Nezumi had barely made it inside when there was loud sound and confetti fell from the ceiling.

"Welcome, one millionth customer!" The workers announced. Nezumi stared at them in confusion before a man that was probably the store owner appeared. Nezumi recognized him as that guy that had a huge crush on Ayame's mother.

"Hello, Rikigia." He said.

"Congratulations are in order, Nezumi," The man said before looking at the group that had followed him, "Hello, Ayame, Safu, Kiyoshi. It's good to see you here in my establishment."

"What are we, chopped liver?" Kadan whispered to Inukashi.

"What is this about one millionth customer?" Nezumi asked.

"Exactly what you heard," Rikigia answered, "As the one millionth customer, for today, you get to eat for free." No way. This had to be a dream. There was no way this was really happening. Those thoughts ran through Nezumi's head while the others cheered and headed to the line, urging him to do the same.

Why was this day filled with such good luck?

 _PROGRAM_VC-103221 RAM Eradication at 94%_

"I'm home!" Nezumi yelled. He checked the time to see it was barely 5:59 p.m. so his family hadn't eaten dinner yet. He smiled and entered the house. His mother came out from the kitchen with her slate-colored hair up in a simple bun and wearing an apron.

"Welcome home, dear." She said gently before Eve followed behind her. His twelve-year-old sister had her slate hair in a messy ponytail while her apron was dirtier than their mother's. Their mother patted Eve on the head, "Eve was just helping me make dinner. It is a special occasion, after all."

"It is?" He asked, taking off his shoes and scarf. He hung his coat on the coat hanger and noticed his father's coat was on the hanger as well, "Dad's here too? Now I'm really curious over what this surprise is."

"You'll see." Eve replied before she took off her apron, "Time for dinner, Dad!"

Nezumi and Eve's father came out from his study, his black-rimmed glasses not hiding the dark circles under his grey eyes. His hair was grey, the same shade as his eyes and Eve's hair, but it wasn't for his age. In fact, his father was just thirty-eight years old while his mother was thirty-seven.

"The man of the hour arrives." He said, ruffling Nezumi's hair before heading into the kitchen, "You're going to love this surprise."

"I'd love it even more if you told me." Nezumi said as his father placed a chaste kiss on his mother's lips. Eve pretended to gag at that and Nezumi rolled his eyes at them before the family of four went inside the dining room.

"Mom, you cooked my favorite. What is the occasion?" Nezumi asked as they all took their seats on the table.

He noticed his parents share a grin while Eve also looked excited. He frowned before his father spoke, "Guess who has been enrolled into Harada Academy."

"No way!" Nezumi yelled while his mother and Eve cheered. Harada Academy was a prestigious university that only allowed six students per school to enter its gates. It had been his dream to enter this school ever since he was a child. He was in it now?

"The acceptance letter came in." His mother said, excited, "I'm ready to frame it already and I've reserved a spot Eve's when she's in her third year." She patted her daughter's head, "I know she's just as brilliant as her big brother."

"I'm proud of you, Nezumi!" Eve announced, clapping her hands, "You're so smart, big brother!"

"This feels too good to be true." Nezumi said with a grin. He'd had incredible luck today. First, his favorite books are on sale, then he was the one-millionth customer of Wicked World and ate for free and now he was enrolled in his dream school.

Life was perfect.

 _PROGRAM_VC-103221 RAM Eradication at 97%_

Nezumi gave out a groan of contentment and got inside his bed. Tomorrow was going to be a slow Sunday where he's just be cooped inside his room either studying or finishing his homework so that would provide him with the time to be away from human interaction. He yawned. Tomorrow was going to be a slow, normal day.

He turned on his side and stiffened when he felt something hiding in the covers with him. His first thought went to Eve – she was still annoyed over the argument from last night, right? – but he remembered she had been asleep when he had gone inside his own room. Fear made his heart beat faster as he lifted the sheets.

Green eyes stared back at his own.

Nezumi prepared himself to scream.

 _PROGRAM_VC-103221 RAM Eradication PAUSED_

 _CONTINUE Eradication?_

 _ **~~~ProgramNezumi~~~**_

 **Anime: What fun. Now, if this was confusing and seemed choppy, it's because it's meant to be like that. Things will be cleared next chapter. See you guys then. Hopefully I'll update this soon. Bye!**

 **Stage 1 Part 1 END**


	2. Chapter 2: ASTER exe

**Rating: T+**

 **Pairings: Nezumi x Shion (eventually)**

 **Warnings: OOCness, OCs, rantings from a mad author, inconsistent updates, implying sexual content, grammatical errors, no beta.**

 **Disclaimer: Whims of Anime does not own No. 6, only the plot and the OCs. They belong to their rightful owners. Please support the official release.**

 **Dedication: To nezushijustwantstobefree, who supported this idea.**

 **Anime: I arrive a month late with the next chapter of Program Nezumi. Sorry I took so long, guys. As heavily motivated I am with it, school is a priority. Can't wait for the summer where I can have all the time to write without worrying over homework. Ah, I can't wait for that. Well, enough about the boringness of my life. To the chapter!**

 _ **~~~ProgramNezumi~~~**_

 **2: ASTER . exe**

A hand covered Nezumi's mouth and he screamed into it, eyes wide and his legs and arms flailing wildly. The person that was hidden inside his covers crawled out and straddled him, immobilizing Nezumi's wild limbs. Since his room was dark, Nezumi wasn't able to distinguish who this person was, although he could see the boy's green eyes since the boy was close to his face.

"Don't scream." The voice was soft, sounding like a young teenager rather than an older man. Nezumi didn't feel secure with that fact, though, so he continued his muffled screaming. The teen above him groaned, his other hand that was currently holding down Nezumi's hands tightening, "If you don't shut up, I'll, uh, rape you."

That was _not_ a threat Nezumi expected so he immediately shut up. The boy on top of him hummed, "That was easy. All I had to do was threaten your virginity, huh? Wait, are you still a virgin because I've heard you're popular. Why am I asking this when I know you can't answer? Sorry. I have been told that I do these kinds of things a lot and that I should stop." The person chuckled before reaching out for something. Nezumi heard the lamp on his bedside switch on and he was finally able to see his captor.

The teenager looked to be around his age or younger but he had a small build, almost delicate and feminine. He was by no means malnourished but the boy looked very thin yet powerful. He had white hair that was as beautiful as the snow that was falling now and his green eyes seemed to glow more in the light than in the darkness. His skin was pale, almost like his hair, and he had no visible blemishes in his face which was a miracle. He was dressed in skin-tight black clothes that left nothing to the imagination so seeing this person on top of him made Nezumi blush.

The white-haired boy snickered, his smirk making Nezumi feel annoyed for some reason. The urge to punch the teen grew even more as he continued to speak, "Guess you are. What, never seen someone like me before in your boring world?" He got off Nezumi and sat down at the edges of his bed, "I suppose not. I am rather handsome, don't you think?"

And arrogant, Nezumi thought with irritation. Was he really being hostage by such a person? He couldn't help but think of himself as weak for that reason.

"Who are you?"

The boy's green eyes glowed and Nezumi disregarded it as a trick performed by the light that shone from his lamp, "Finally asking the right questions! I am the artificial intelligence program designed by the brilliant Dr. Haou named Assisting and Saving The Enslaved Rebel dot exe. My objective is to save you, obviously."

"Assisting and Saving The Enslaved Rebel dot exe? That's your name?" Nezumi asked, frowning at the AI - _seriously? An AI?_ \- with confusion. The AI nodded before Nezumi sighed, "Do you have another name I could call you by?"

"Well, there's my binary code name: 01000001-."

"A simpler name!" Nezumi said, running a hand through his hair because hearing all those numbers was just goin to confuse him in the end, "Maybe an acronym of your huge name?"

The AI thought about it for a while before nodding, "ASTER. That's my shortened name, if you remove the 'and' part and 'dot exe'. My father used to call me that so it's an honor for you to call me as such. In binary code, my acronym name is 01000001 01010011 01010100 01000101 01010010."

Nezumi felt a headache come in while Aster had recited his name in binary code and rubbed his temples when he finally finished, "Aster, huh? That's a nice name. It's the name of a flower, isn't it? The flower aster-."

 _A person was standing next to him and the two were overlooking a city. The person turned to look at him-._

"Agh!" Nezumi held his head, eyes wide, "What did I just see?"

"I guess I came in at the right time. The elimination of your memories wasn't completed." Aster nodded before sighing happily, looking up at the ceiling with a happy look, "I'm so glad. Coming here wasn't a big waste."

He was suddenly invading Nezumi's personal space and it made Nezumi blush for some odd reason. Nezumi wanted to kick himself because this was the second time Aster had made him blush. No one had ever made him blush in all of his years of being alive. Not even Ayame had been able to make the blood rush to his face. So why did he react with Aster?

Aster blinked before looking away, allowing Nezumi to stop blushing. Luckily, Aster didn't seem to notice his blushing problem, "You've forgotten most of _that person_ , haven't you?"

"That person?"

Aster nodded but didn't say anything else for a while. He closed his eyes before opening them, his expressive eyes showing a deep sorrow that made Nezumi feel upset as well, "You must have forgotten. Otherwise, you'd be willing to believe me that none of this is real."

Nezumi didn't know how to react when those words passed through Aster's mouth. None of this was real? That was ridiculous. His family was real, his friends were real, he was real. Aster must be crazy. Yeah, that was it. This guy most have escaped from the mental hospital.

"You're insane."

Aster sighed, running a hand through his hair, "You think so?" He stared at Nezumi with those piercing green eyes of his and, suddenly, Nezumi wondered why those eyes weren't red instead. It would've matched the image of an albino. It would've matched the image of-.

 _"Was that a goodbye kiss?"_

Nezumi flinched again and Aster looked around. This place was rather nice so he understood why Nezumi would prefer this over his reality. Keeping Nezumi in here was the purpose of this simulation. Still, there were people that were waiting for Nezumi. _He_ was waiting for Nezumi. Like his father had said, waiting for someone for two years could be quite stressful and no one would wait forever, right?

"You seem to be remembering so why is it that you keep pushing those memories away?" Aster asked, grabbing Nezumi's hand and squeezing it. His hands were cold, Nezumi thought, nothing like someone that was alive. That person's hands were warm.

 _Who am I thinking about?_

"I. . ."

Aster sighed again - _that person didn't sigh that much, right_ \- before leaning so close, Nezumi could feel his breathing and his heart - why do I keep reacting? - began to pound loudly. Aster grinned, "For the record, you're not my type. This was just my perverted father's way of helping you."

"Wha-."

Cool lips connected with his own and Nezumi tried to push him away immediately. This was wrong - _a violation to who?_ \- yet Nezumi couldn't seem to succeed in pushing Aster off. Just before he was ready to bite the insane boy's lip, he began to see-.

 _-it was a stormy night and he was running. He could feel pain on one of his arms and he felt so out of breath. He felt like he was going to die if he stopped running. The wind whipped his hair around slightly, the rain was cold and he was freezing. His heart was pounding was so loud, he almost mistook it for the pounding rain. He stopped, wanting a break, then heard someone screaming in the middle of this storm. He looked up to see-._

"What was that?" Nezumi asked, Aster wiping his mouth in what looked like disgust. For some reason, that just annoyed Nezumi since it had been Aster that had kissed him.

"A memory. I have important pieces of your memory that were almost deleted by the system. Since you have 3% of your memory left of your true life, I have 97% and just gave you 1% of your memory back." Aster answered before laying down, "The only way for you to retrieve your memory is for me to pass some of my own data into you, which is what that kiss was. Just transferrence of data."

"You have to be crazy."

Aster smiled up at him and he felt so familiar that it caused Nezumi's heart to ache, "Then, alas, you are too because you are starting to believe me."

Nezumi didn't reply. Instead, he tried to think about ways to prove that this world was real. Just as he opened his mouth, Aster interrupted him, his gaze completely serious, "What is Inukashi's last name?"

"Huh?" Nezumi blinked.

"What are Kadan and Kiyoshi's parents like? Why have you not seen Safu's parents, grandparents and siblings all the times that you've been to her house? How come you never leave this place despite having the money to travel. Why is Harada University the only prestigious university you know of? How come Eve never brings friends over? What does your father work as? Where are the farms that harvest the fruits you eat? How come there are bees around in the winter? Why do you have such good luck?"

Aster smiled cruelly when he saw Nezumi didn't answer, "Once you give me an answer to that, then you're allowed to call me crazy or whatever else you want to call me. If you can't, then that just proves my point of this being a world that isn't real."

Nezumi had no idea what to say. Aster's words made him tremble. He looked at his room, "How is this not real?"

"This is all inside a simulation of sorts." Aster replied and touched the bed, Nezumi doing the same. Nezumi's eyes widened when his bed glowed green like some kind of hologram. Aster's hand had turned blue and he saw a sequence of numbers in binary code. Aster pulled away from it and the bed and his hand returned to normal.

"You've been in here for two years where your memories have been stolen by all types of drugs that researchers have developed to keep you here. They created seven stages inside this simulation so you will never wake up. This world, the seven stage, is a simulation of a perfect world that you would never want to leave. The people here are limited to people you met before so were recreated from your memories or AI's like myself that were programmed to play a role in your life."

"My parents, Eve, Kadan, Kiyoshi, Ayame, Safu, Inukashi, they're not real?" Nezumi muttered and stared at his own hand as if expecting it to glow and binary numbers to appear. He frowned, "How am I sure that I'm not a simulation and this isn't a joke?"

Aster rolled his eyes and grabbed Nezumi's hand. Aster's hand glowed blue again, showing his binary code. Nezumi expected binary numbers to appear in place of his hands but was surprised when his hand did not change. Aster smiled up at him, "You're real. You're alive. You're made up of flesh, bone and blood. You're not made up of codes like everyone else here. You're lucky in that regard. I envy you, Nezumi."

"What now, then?" Nezumi asked, pulling his hand away from Aster's cold - _why were they so cold when that person's were so warm?_ \- hand.

Aster shrugged, "Well, you believe me now, hopefully. You do believe me, right?"

After everything he'd seen, of course he did. Unless he was being pranked by his friends but not even his insane and creative friends would come up with such a detailed prank like this one. Besides, the kiss - _data transference_ \- did make him remember things and Aster had brought up interesting things when he had asked him questions. He must be crazy for believing him, Nezumi thought before nodding.

Aster smiled - _why did he feel so happy seeing it?_ \- softly before clapping his hands together, "Now, my mission to getting you out begins. I am programmed with the layout of this simulation and how to get out of it. So, I'm your proud guide!"

Nezumi sighed, "Yeah, yeah. How do I get out of this thing?"

"In order to awaken in the real world, you're going to have to clear the seven stages of this simulation. Each stage will present a different challenge so I hope you're ready for that." Aster said, completely serious. Again, he grabbed Nezumi's hand - _cool hands that should be warm_ \- and squeezed it, "That person you're struggling to remember is out there waiting for you."

Yes, that person that he had begun to remember thanks to Aster. The person that meant a lot to him. That person must be important because they - _who was they?_ \- had tried so hard to delete his memory of that person. They had nearly succeeded, too.

Nezumi couldn't remember that person's gender, face, voice, body, presence or name. Yet the emotions he felt for that person stayed. He could feel how much he missed that person. He wanted to see that person again after so long. That person, a person that he never wanted to lose, was waiting for him.

"What do I have to do to get out?"

 _ **~~~ProgramNezumi~~~**_

"Chairman," A young scientist said as he entered the lab and greeted the powerful old man. The man was quiet, staring at the unmoving corpse of Dr. Haou, the pride of No. 6. The scientist was silent as he knew how much Haou had been valued during this project. Haou had created the program that kept the boy asleep and had designed all the stages. The reason why Nezumi was still in here was because of Haou and now the brilliant doctor was dead.

"What is it that you want?" The Chairman asked, holding the limp, pale and cold hand of the corpse, "I am grieving over the death of such a brilliant mind."

The scientist nodded, "I am aware but I have to inform you that there is a virus within the program that the antiviruses cannot seem to find or delete. We managed to detect it but we can't seem to get rid of it."

"What?" The Chairman frowned, "Have you traced its source?"

"Yes, sir. It was from a laptop in Dr. Haou's lab. He created the virus ASTER."

"Did he?" The Chairman asked, placing a hand on the deceased scientist's face, "Is that why you look so calm, despite death being so close to you?" He smiled down at him before looking back at the scientist, "Whatever it takes, destroy that virus. Don't let the subject escape, no matter what."

It was time for that game to start.

 _ **~~~ProgramNezumi~~~**_

Somewhere else, far away from Nezumi and Aster that planned the escape of the young renegade, far away from the lab that kept Nezumi asleep, someone dropped their cup of water. The water poured all over the floor and the pieces of the glass had gone practically everywhere. The two other occupants of the room jolted.

"Hey, are you alright?" Inukashi, the real Inukashi and not the simulation that trapped Nezumi, asked before a woman entered began to clean the mess. They were all silent as she cleaned and, when the woman left, Inukashi finally took a good look at Shion. She frowned over what she saw, "You seem unbalanced. Is everything okay, Shion?"

The white haired boy had an unreadable look, his eyes were unfocused as he looked out the windows to view the outside. Shion looked dazed and it was odd for Inukashi to see him like this. These moments where Shion zoned out only occured when he was remembering that damn Nezumi but he hadn't thought about Nezumi for almost two years since the fall of the wall that seperated No. 6 and West Block.

Shion couldn't be thinking about Nezumi now, right? They had all decided that it was most likely that he had died and that was the reason why he hadn't returned to Shion's side. No matter how much they hoped that Nezumi was alive, they were all realists.

"I'm not sure," Shion admitted, standing up to stand closer to the window and the beautiful view of the outside.

Rikigia, the real Rikigia, stared at Shion with a worried look before speaking to the young man, "Are you sure? Is the job too much? If you want, we can get you an off-day for you to spend with your mom and Shuichi. Overworking yourself can lead to problems in your health and if you die, there will be a power vaccum and-."

Shion gave off a weak chuckle, "No, it's fine. Thanks for worrying after me, Inukashi, Rikigia. I just. . ." He paused, his bright red eyes still looking towards the horizon in wonder. He smiled, placing a hand over his heart. The gesture made the two former occupants of West Block share a glance in worry over the leader of their new world after No. 6 and the utopias like it fell.

"Just what?" Inukashi asked.

Shion closed his eyes, his smile making both of them feel at ease, "I feel that Nezumi will finally come back to me."

 _ **~~~ProgramNezumi~~~**_

 **Anime: Not a true AU after all. This is like a continuation of No. 6 so this is what happened to Nezumi after the events of the last episode. Will our favorite renegade be able to escape? Also, this story may have hints of Nezumi x Aster/Aster x Nezumi but I don't ship it. It's necessary for the plot. I ship Nezumi x Shion, everyone. Nezumi only reacts to Aster because Aster a) gets too close and makes him have normal bodily reactions b) initiates something intimate and c) looks like Shion except for his eyes. Nezumi isn't falling for Aster. Well, enough about that, see you guys in chapter three. I'll try to upload it as soon as I can.**

 **Incorrect quotes for No. 6:**

 **Nezumi: I've got an idea.**

 **Shion: We're not going to murder anyone.**

 **Nezumi: I have no ideas.**

 **Stage 1 Part 2 END**


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